// BACK TO BORREGAS

In a small section of industrial land called Moffett Park nestled between Caribbean Drive and 237 lies what can only be described as the relics of an era long passed, the home to all of the creativity, imagination, and wonder that created the first spark of the first fire in the valley to burn. This was the home of a few street names which to any given American wouldn't have meant much, but to Atari historians and gamers globally, these streets set the boundaries of our universe. Moffett Park Drive. Caribbean. Java. Gibraltar. Bordeaux. Borregas. These were the streets which housed the buildings which housed the offices and labs which housed the creativity which in turn gave us most everything "Atari" that we would ever grow to love. This, in essence, was the belly of the beast. This was Borregas Avenue.

While other streets such as Bordeaux served as home to some of Atari's Sunnyvale facilities, it was Borregas which held the most prestigious buildings, including two of Atari's former Corporate World Headquarters, not to mention consumer assembly, 2600, 400/800/XL, R&D, and engineering. Borregas was also the most recognizable as it was emblazoned into Atari's address on most Atari packaging from the heyday of coin-op through the demise of the Jaguar.

Recently I had to fly out to Silicon Valley to meet up with two associates whom I have been working closely with on a new high-tech venture. However these weren't just *any* associates, and this wasn't to be just *any* trip. I was meeting with two of Atari's most renowned creative minds, Mr. Regan Cheng, and Dr. Gene N. Landrum, Ph.D. Gene served as the catalyst which got the home consumer division up and running, working closely with Nolan Bushnell and Joe Keenan through the sale to Warner and the launch of the 2600. Landrum is best known for creating "Chuck E. Cheese" and the Pizza Time Theatre "Chuck E Cheese" chain of restaurants. Regan Cheng is best known as the industrial designer who "penned the modern Atari look" with his creation of the 5200 and the XL line. When you close your eyes and think of "Atari" chances are one of the first images that come to mind is one of some sort of sleek angular black plastic unit with a silver metal strip across the face. It was this very concept which was born from Regan's mind.

So here I am. A twentysomething out in the Valley trying to make it happen, meeting with two of my "childhood idols" in a sense, yet not in leisure. But how could I waste such an opportunity on seriousness! I had to seize the moment. After meeting with Regan for a few hours, we decided to drive three miles out of Cupertino to take an impromptu tour of Borregas. Once there, Regan walked me around Borregas Avenue from building to building, stoping primarily at two of Atari's most legendary quarters.

The first building we stopped at was 1265 Borregas Ave. which served as Atari's corporate headquarters during the Warner years, until the sale of the company to the Tramiel family in 1984. This was the building that was famous for its grand staircase which would wrap down the inside of the foyer out to the loop where Ray Kassar would arrive every morning in his chauffeured limousine. Regan reminisced about the building mentioning that Michael Jackson once showed up here to tour the building in the late 70's to see "where video games were made." Regan also commented that the front of 1265's parking lot was littered with Porsches, Mercedes, and even Landrum's DeLorean as that was the building where "all the money was going." The building now has been divided in half and repainted. The grand staircase is gone. The Atari employee game room is no more. But the building and the memories still exist, and even with that, it was an experience to be there.

The second building on our tour truly felt like holy ground. We walked diagonally across the street and over a small embankment to reach 1196 Borregas Ave. which also served as Atari's Corporate World Headquarters during the Tramiel years from 1984 - 1996. When first constructed during the Warner days, this building housed Research & Development and the 400/800/XL team. Once the sale of Atari to the Tramiels had been completed in the summer of 1984, Jack Tramiel consolidated Atari's assets down and turned this building into Atari's new headquarters. Most every Atari product produced from this point on featured 1196 Borregas Ave. as the address on the back of the product.

The first thing you notice when walking around the 1196 Borregas campus is the design of the building's structure. Just looking at it you can see a clear influence of the Atari "Fuji" logo in the design of the building its self. You notice how the now vacant building's entrance still bears the original window text placed there in 1984 by the Tramiels. The former Atari corporate reception desk still resides within the main entrance of the building. A woman named Geraldine used to answer the phone here for several years.

Walking counter-clockwise around back you will first notice a small outdoor commons plaza which served as a relaxing hangout for Atari's employees during lunch. Employees would often sit here to smoke or eat a sandwich and discuss the days events with fellow co-workers. This was the "water cooler" of Atari corporate.

As you continue your walk you stumble into something which seems totally out of place to those who aren't familiar with Silicon Valley. Planted in a make-shift hole dug in the center of a parking space in the back end corporate parking lot sits an old Basketball hoop which was used by restless employees during breaks. Like an oasis in the desert this hoop clashes against the back of the former Corporate headquarters. This is just a small reminder of the corporate culture that survived within Atari, even more than a decade in to the Tramiel years.

Once back around in front of the building, you stumble across one final relic of Atari's once great presence. Sitting on the corner of the lot is an empty concrete shell which once held the entrance sign to Atari's corporate facility. Regan Cheng is pictured next to this shell at the bottom of the page.

Overall, the experience of aimlessly walking around these buildings was very surreal. After all, they are merely office buildings. But what they once contained was so much greater than that. A phone booth is just a mere phone booth until Clark Kent runs inside for a quick change. Hence, it's more about the occupant than the structure its self. Just as the Parthenon once was the epicenter of all enlightenment, to tread the land of Atari was to stand in the presence of what was once the center of creative thought and game theory. It was, for lack of better words, eerily amazing.

 

All text and photo media © Institute For Advanced Atari Gaming Studies.